Barrie is looking to young artists to capture the city’s past, present and future in a mural that will be erected on the Collier Street Parkade.

“We’re coming up to the deadline for submissions for the mural project,” said cultural development officer Onalee Groves.

“I’m getting phone calls from people asking how much money we’re giving them for supplies. We’re not giving them anything,” she said – other than the opportunity to showcase a piece of art, the recognition that goes with it, and a $2,000 honorarium.

Groves said the city’s plan is to encourage emerging artists – that is those who have an exhibition history of five to eight years or those who are enrolled in a post-secondary visual arts program – to reflect on Barrie and design a mural.

Artists submit a preliminary sketch on an 8.5-by-11-inch piece of paper, along with a portfolio of their past works; full details can be found on the city’s website

The project encourages the young artists to consider the history of the community and Collier Street in particular; the site adjacent to the parkade was once the city’s Grand Opera House, which opened in 1896. It was home to a variety of the creative arts, including voice, comedy, orchestral music, theatre, dance and vaudeville, until it was destroyed by fire in 1926.

The remaining first and basement floors – used as a fruit market and antique store and more recently as a night club – were finally torn down to facilitate construction of the garage.

The new parking garage is meant, however, to be more than just a place to park. It is the city’s first step in contributing to the revitalization of the city core; Collier Street is to be a professional/financial district, and the parkade’s wall, adjacent to what will become a landscaped parkette, is strategic, in that as people enter the new district, it will be a prominent feature.

After a panel chooses the piece or pieces that will be enlarged into a mural, the city will work with The Look Company to create a building wrap.

“They will reproduce it on cloth that adheres to the building,” said Groves. “It’ll come down in three or four years, and by then, we’ll be able to pay a local artist to create something. We need a public art policy and by the time it’s faded, we’ll have money to create something else.”

The Look Company’s general manager Bill Choghri explained the company digitally transmits images onto large pieces of vinyl or cloth, and installs them with hardware on the sides of buildings.

Usually the process is used to erect banners for events, he noted; the company’s repertoire includes the 2003 Special Olympics in Ireland and the 2006 Asian Games in Doha.

“It’s so beautiful, so much nicer than paint,” said Choghri. “Why not make something beautiful?”
Interested artists can also contact Groves at 739-4220, ext. 4794 or by e-mail at ogroves@barrie.ca.